Saturday

Do low World Series ratings hint at trouble for MLB's TV partners?

Major League Baseball is flush with cash from its new TV rights deals — but that could be troubling for the networks that gave the sport that money, given the record-low ratings for the World Series that defy explanation, USA Today's Michael Hiestand writes.
More baseball:

Here's ESPN's Buster Olney on what the Indians are facing this offseason (Insider only):
This could be a relatively quiet offseason for the Indians, as they consider ways of augmenting the roster without spending a ton of money — or it could turn into a winter of major change. If Cleveland devotes itself to overhauling the roster in an effort to rebuild its pitching, then it has a lot of players who would be really attractive in the trade market — shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who is signed through 2014 and could be enormously attractive to Arizona, Oakland or Tampa Bay; outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who is eligible for free agency after next year; Carlos Santana, who is reaching the crossroads when he needs to decide whether to rededicate himself to being a catcher; pitchers Justin Masterson and Chris Perez, as well as Vinnie Pestano — because if the Indians go for the complete overhaul, they might as well trade Pestano now, when his value is at its highest.

The Houston Astros, as you might expect, were planning a big launch party for their new logo — but one of the team's customers, a sporting goods store that was selling shirts with the new logos, displayed them a week early.
Oops. Said the president and CEO of Academy Sports and Outdoors CEO/president, Rodney Faldyn:
“We express our apologies to Houston Astros fans, our partners at the Houston Astros ball club, along with Major League Baseball for inadvertently releasing the new Astros t-shirts in limited quantity. We take pride in our ongoing partnership with the Astros, and this oversight is not our standard business practice.”
Something tells me Faldyn won't be getting a holiday card this year from the team.

Poor Columbus

As I tweeted last week, the inevitable cancellation of the NHL's All-Star game, scheduled for Nationwide Arena in Columbus, is a huge blow to the Blue Jackets and hockey in Columbus, where struggles have mounted. (Michigan Stadium also is set to lose the Winter Classic, the league's premier outdoor showcase.)
But, if history is any indicator, Columbus could be back in the fold quickly: According to Rant Sports, “During the 1994-95 lockout, San Jose lost its chance to host but was given another shot in 1998. Atlanta lost its slot during the 2004-05 lockout but was rewarded in 2008. The only problem would be that Columbus would have to wait till 2015 at the earliest if NHL players are allowed to participate in the 2014 Winter Olympics.”

Brown's Town?

On Monday I wrote about a slightly sticky subject, Hall of Famer Jim Brown's role with the Cleveland Browns. My point: Are we sure Jim Brown should have a prominent role within the organization, more than the “greeter” role he turned down from Mike Holmgren, sparking the latest Brown-vs.-the-Browns feud?
I got some replies from readers, both agreeing and disagreeing, and wanted to share. It turns out I'm not the only one wondering about the topic.
Chris Steedman: Call me clueless, but I fail to understand the ongoing efforts to placate Jim Brown. He was a football player — a very good one. But everything involving him has to revolve around Jim Brown, not the team. If he feels "disrespected," he pouts, lets everyone knows he's displeased and makes disparaging remarks about any and all decisions made the Browns management. Once his ego is placated, he comes back around, talks about being "respected" and looks for an expanding role in the organization. To do what? What value can he bring at this point?
Dino Thomas: My sense of history tells me this is a touchdown for the (new) ownership and organization. This town has one legitimate sports icon who at nearly 77 still wants to contribute, has stood up throughout his life for equality among the races, is one of the last links to the Browns going back to the ''50s and there is a question of doubt regarding his future contributions?
Michael Knoblauch: (He's) the new/old Bob Feller. I suspect the various Indians owners and general managers, and there were a lot of them, had the same situation to deal with. (Joel here: I'm not sure I quite buy this one, because to my knowledge, Feller never had the up-and-down relationship with the Indians that Brown did with the Browns.)George Kirby: Jim Brown was a great football player, but … Jim Brown has always been about Jim Brown, and I am trying to put my finger on the quality of the advice given to Randy Lerner — given how well the team performed during those years (he was involved with the team as an adviser).
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